Related papers: Ultimate limits to inertial mass sensing based upo…
We determine the quantum mechanical limits to inertial mass-sensing based on nanomechanical systems. We first consider a harmonically oscillating cantilever whose vibration frequency is changed by mass accretion at its surface. We show that…
Mechanical resonators are widely used as inertial balances to detect small quantities of adsorbed mass through shifts in oscillation frequency[1]. Advances in lithography and materials synthesis have enabled the fabrication of nanoscale…
Nano-mechanical resonators have a large potential as sensors of very small adsorbed masses, down to the atomic level and beyond. Here I establish the fundamental lower bound on the mass that can be measured with a nano-mechanical oscillator…
Nanomechanical resonators with ultra-high quality factors have become a central element in fundamental research, enabling measurements below the standard quantum limit and the preparation of long-lived quantum states. Here, I propose that…
Nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) have generated considerable interest as inertial mass sensors. NEMS resonators have been used to weigh cells, biomolecules, and gas molecules, creating many new possibilities for biological and chemical…
We describe the application of nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) to ultrasensitive mass detection. In these experiments, a modulated flux of atoms was adsorbed upon the surface of a 32.8 MHz NEMS resonator within an ultrahigh vacuum…
Carbon nanotube mechanical resonators have attracted considerable interest because of their small mass, the high quality of their surface, and the pristine electronic states they host. However, their small dimensions result in fragile…
Micro-/nanomechanical mass sensors are capable to quantitatively determine molecule mass from only first three (two) measured cantilever (bridge) resonant frequencies. However, in liquid solutions that are relevant to most of the biological…
High-aspect-ratio mechanical resonators are pivotal in precision sensing, from macroscopic gravitational wave detectors to nanoscale acoustics. However, fabrication challenges and high computational costs have limited the…
Nanomechanical resonators having small mass, high resonance frequency and low damping rate are widely employed as mass detectors. We study the performances of such a detector when the resonator is driven into a region of nonlinear…
We report on a simple method to fabricate high-frequency nanotube mechanical resonators reproducibly. We measure resonance frequencies as high as 4.2 GHz for the fundamental eigenmode and 11 GHz for higher order eigenmodes. The…
We investigate initially the influence of thermomechanical and momentum exchange noise on the limit to mass sensitivity of nanoresonators with random rough surfaces, which are characterized by the roughness amplitude, the correlation…
The small mass and high coherence of nanomechanical resonators render them the ultimate force probe, with applications ranging from biosensing and magnetic resonance force microscopy, to quantum optomechanics. A notorious challenge in these…
Resonance properties of nanomechanical resonators based on doubly clamped silicon nanowires, fabricated from silicon-on-insulator and coated with a thin layer of aluminum, were experimentally investigated. Resonance frequencies of the…
Micro- and nanomechanical resonators are emerging as promising platforms for quantum technologies, precision sensors and fundamental science experiments. To utilize these devices for force sensing or quantum optomechanics, they must be…
Recent advances in glass fabrication technology have allowed for the development of high-precision inertial sensors in devices weighing in the order of grams. Gram-scale inertial sensors can be used in many applications with tight space or…
It has been demonstrated in the recent years that nanomechanical mass spectrometry was well suited for the analysis of specific high mass species such as viruses. Still, the exclusive use of one-dimensional devices such as vibrating beams…
Mechanical resonators based on a single carbon nanotube are exceptional sensors of mass and force. The force sensitivity in these ultra-light resonators is often limited by the noise in the detection of the vibrations. Here, we report on an…
Nanomechanical oscillators are at the heart of ultrasensitive detectors of force, mass and motion. As these detectors progress to even better sensitivity, they will encounter measurement limits imposed by the laws of quantum mechanics. For…
Mass sensing connects the mass variation to a frequency shift of a mechanical oscillator, whose limitation is determined by its mechanical frequency resolution. Here we propose a method to enlarge a minute mechanical frequency shift, which…